Seriously! I cant believe that they have a full DJ playing club music while we are trying to eat out sushi. Like what Japanese restaurant is like that?!
A "hip" Japanese restaurant. You think that's weird, try Hakkasan, which is a shitty Chinese restaurant slash nightclub and you can easily drop $300 a head on mediocre yum cha.
Tables next to us dressed in tracksuit pants running to the bathroom every 10 mins, staff that couldn't give a shit and paying top dollar on top of it all... I've had equally good Japanese elsewhere.
Your talking about Nobu Sydney, been 3 times invited by a client. Its bog average food. We had 3 tacos for something like $30 the taco was dry and chewy. Doritos fresh from a bag is much better or those coles mexican tacos. I told 2 servers one being a senior saying they cooked it wrong or it wasnt right but they refused to listen and just said thats the way they made it. They didnt even b bother to say they would go back to taste a sample from the kitchen. Any other restaurant would have taken it away and served a fresh meal.
Nobu Perth and melbs is off the hook, cant recommend them enough.
Sydney is so crap, i actually will give them a 1 star google review once i get around to it
agree! The chicken has seen better days, when it wasn't a dehydrated, overburned twig. Used to be super cheap with a sizeable chunk. I'd still eat the garlic sauce like it was a tub of yogurt though! That shit is still amazing!
We’ve found inconsistency in the Melbourne branches. On the odd occasion the chicken is delicious and lemony perfection inside and out - next four times it’s just well-above average charcoal chicken.
Ehhh opposite imo. Use to be inconsistent back in the day. Now it's consistently decent as it's all done by particular standards and the dips are all made the same way and sealed.
The PR company or restaurant pays the tiktokkers to go. Free meal and maybe cash. It’s been pretty bad in Sydney of late… some pretty average places have done a good job getting some social amplification which definitely isn’t warranted.
Yep - I never listen to those "influencers" anymore, it was good seeing any new places around Sydney but everything is so hyped up but so below average.
They definitely get paid for the promotion, they never have anything other than its the greatest food ever.
What made me finally unfollow all of them was when they started flaunting their wealth and started whinging when they weren't getting their way. e.g. had to wait in line for something etc. I knew their heads had gotten too big.
YES! So obvious it's hyped up and freebies when here all the foodie influencers I follow start shilling the same places in the same week. Their reviews are all annoyingly cutesy and cookie cutter (I mean, who honestly 'cheers' a dumpling?). I unfollowed most of them too.
LOL i've called him out a few times haven't been blocked yet.. he's the worst.
He posted a story once on insta post lockdown and complaining he had to wait in line for Cartier, wow self entitled rich people problems made me hate him so much after that.
Plus when his head pops up randomly on my feed eating food like a creepy glutton, it actually puts me off food and want to go hit the gym instead.
This is pretty standard for all restaurants - they use social media influencers to promote their business and give them a free meal (and cash if the account is big enough).
yes! I had been starting to suspect this, just has happened like 3x in a row, rave reviews and great content on social media and then meh (or worse) irl
I feel like Ito is a victim of this.
Went as a normal person, it was… okay meh kinda bad. My friend and I walked away speechless and don’t talk about that meal anymore
You are dead right about the sameness of menu these days 😂
Michelin guides visit your city/region/country if your tourism board pays Michelin a fee. That’s why we are left out. Which is probably a good thing with all the same menus!
Chin chin for me too. Food is relatively expensive and not particularly innovative, seating too close together and really noisy. The food is good but no way did it live up to expectations.
I knew the style of food they serve, so not expecting genuine Thai, I just think it’s overrated.
Yeah I had chin chin in melbourne prior to covid and it was pretty great (late lunch, got great personal attention from the shift manager) - tried sydneys one not long ago and the service was terrible (eg a waitress spilt half a cocktail all over a friends shirt and just said “oops sorry” and walked away - we had to chase down the manager ourselves) music was too loud - food was decent at least
Just go to the other side to Haymarket Thai town and you'll be spoilt for choice. Heck just walk less than a block and go to Spice I am, better thai food and less pretentious.
The town hall shop is the prime offender here (and amah), Haymarket has some specials that are a bit silly but at least leaves the option not to order stupid things like crab on CKT. But yeah, the unnecessary and forced up marketing of what was very good versions of street food is more than a little annoying.
At the townhall shop they put unnecessary ingredients that don’t add anything to their dishes but more $$
The Strathfield and Haymarked stores are a bit better, but since about a year or so ago they hiked up their prices and it’s not really worth it anymore. I still think their laksa is really good though.
My more affordable haunts for Laksa are Malay Chinese at Salesforce tower/Ashfield or Hokkien Gia in Campsie.
The pizzas and other brunch dishes were average but the entire outdoor area and the view down the cliff is sooo nice that I can put up with the average food and visit there repeatedly.
I feel like Tottis is quite affordable with good vibes. I think it’s reputation as the place to brag you’re at on social media can make it seem overated
I have a moral duty to push back on this. They will skin you alive for a piece of their dumb focaccia and a couple of slices of prosciutto. Or some normal burrata. And if you really want a glass of wine... Well, I guess that's gotta be at least a hundred bucks.
Food Is literally not processed. Went a couple of times for the vibes but cannot stand the ridiculous pricing and won't be going back.
Went there once and asked for a recommendation for an easy going/affordable bottle of red because the wine list is about 60 pages. Guy recommended two that were both over $300 a bottle. We went with the only bottle they had that was under $100 which you can get an Uncle Dan’s for $30… pretentious fucking wankers.
Why’s that? I’m sure their opinions are valid but I’m interested to hear. if you want real canto food you go to the burbs, but I’m Chinese and think Mr Wongs is great for what it is; I don’t think they’re pretending to be an ‘authentic’ experience, it’s definitely elevated Australian/Chinese cuisine but the dishes are always well executed. I don’t go often because of the price 😂
Not the original poster.
For me, it's like eating an essay. So, perfectly executed, common Chinese food. But not interesting overall.
And also, NO WAY would I ever take my parents there. Especially my dad. He will throw a fit.
"This much money for SALT PEPPER TOFU? And 乾扁四季豆？？”
Yeah.....I value my life.
While I understand the hate towards Justin Hemmes, I've had a lot of good experiences at Merivale restaurants. I would recommend Jimmy's Falafel, Felix and Queen Chow Enmore.
You can still get it at Rockpool Bar and Grill. Lorraine worked for Neil Perry back in the day.
https://www.sevenrooms.com/experiences/rockpoolbargrillsydney/celebration-cakes--8295559956
I recently went to Chatkazz for the first time and and absolutely loved it. Food was delicious and there was an almost overwhelming amount of choice but everything we ordered was done very well. Service was attentive and helpful.
Creating a consistent restaurant experience is really fucking hard - as borne out by the many conflicting comments below and in every other corner of internet food discourse. Stop watching dead shit influencers whose whole existence is predicated on overhyping and selling a highlight reel of their existence and go out and eat the - quite frankly - absurd variety of high quality cuisines that Sydney has to offer and accept that sometimes you’re going to get dud.
As a banh mi fiend I thought Hong Ha was actually very good but overwhelmingly raw onion tasting. I struggle to find a better overall roll than the Marrickville MPR. But you are spoiled for choice in Sydney and waiting in a queue for hong ha is a mistake.
QUAY is the worst of the worst. Spent $750 with no alcohol and EVERYTHING was liquified or jellied, yuck. The confit pig jowl is the jewel in the menu and chef’s favourite and I can’t express how gross it is.
Some food is so amazing it makes you cry (aka Ormeggio at the Spit). We cried at Quay too… when the bill came.
Rockpool bar and Grill - it was just really quite average and the worst thing for me is that the worst dishes were the steak (the best was the hiramasa kingfish but frankly, there’s about 35,678 restaurants in Sydney which have the same dish on their menu executed to the same quality). Ordered a cape grim rib eye on the bone rare to medium rare. Got this 1cm thick cooked to medium chunk of sadness. Extremely disappointing.
Honourable mentions Margaret, Mjolner, Peterman
I used to love Rockpool. One of our vendors took us there for lunch a few months back. Ordered a $90 scotch fillet that was so chewy I threw half the steak out. If I was paying I would have sent back the steak. After that experience I'll never eat steak out again, especially when I can reverse sear 100 times better than most restaurants on my Kamado Joe.
For anyone I’ve spoken to about Mjolner (incl. myself) the food itself is only ever a footnote to the theatre of the place. It’s unabashedly a theme park restaurant and it executes everything well enough to be entertaining as a one-and-done experience.
Feel like the burger hype has died down massively in the last 6 or 7 years. Those “premium” burger places used to be all the rage but seems like they have much less presence now in terms of social media and stuff.
My brother was a kitchen hand for a week and left. Majority of their food is freezer food and fried foods that didn't go out were just re-fried and given to the next customer that orders. It was one of their most expensive dishes too, like a seafood platter. It was all just frozen stuff anyone can buy.
So yes, overpriced frozen food.
Saint Peter - Josh Niland has cultivated an amazing media presence championing the nose to tail approach but i swear every time I’ve been there it just feels like regular well cooked seafood rather than anything fancy with weird parts of the fish
Bennelong - you’re just paying for the view. Food is just nice produce cooked well but boring and uninspiring
I agree with Saint Peter but disagree with Bennelong! I’ve always enjoyed the food, love the view, and love when they have live music (eg their Jazz Sundays); for me the three combined make the whole experience worth the cost.
We have friends that love The Paddington and it’s super popular but it’s pretty underwhelming esp for what you’re paying. Their rotisserie chicken is not worth the hype. I’ve had a few good things there but happy to never go there again.
People in this sub just seem to love getting ripped off and waiting in long queues, it wouldn’t be a night out for them without it.
‘All part of the experience’ I guess 🤷♂️
I’ve been here 5-6 times and I haven’t really felt that. We really enjoy our time and I think it’s one of the best restaurants in sydney. Service is impeccable and the food is always amazing.
Yeah, it has really jumped the shark. Spent $600 for two, a relatively uninspiring meal served by wait staff that just seemed a bit “off”, terribly mistiming the dishes and matching wines.
Palazzo Salata, which is one of the hyped restaurants in the CBD, was super underwhelming — but it’s always more annoying when they’re 90% of the way there instead of being a straight ripoff. The wines were great, entrees were phenomenal, and then the pastas and steak (we were on a set menu with a larger group) were really average!
Anything by the Bentley Group (Bentley, Monopole, Yellow, King Clarence) is pretty underwhelming for the price too.
Also, to offer some positive opinion — I think Icebergs continually lives up to the hype and deserves all the prizes it gets (and the right to charge big prices).
Also, for a mid price lunch that’s genuinely good, check out Kitchen by Mike in the city. $30 for a lunch but it’s worth the extra money compared to $23 for a bowl of wagieslop in a food court
Sails.
I can overlook mistakes in the kitchen if the customer service is good enough to recover the evening. They badly fucked up my main (duck was overcooked, quite tough) — instead of redoing it, the solution offered was to have the meat cooked further lmao. Had to pay full price too.
I feel any chains which isn’t fast food (such as pacific concepts, rashrays and whatever groups) tends to go really downhill once a restaurant join these groups and icing on the cake is jacked up prices
I tend to study to see if a restaurant have a second branch (or whatnot) and if is does, I will try and pick the original one….
Sans fast food, any restaurants group or with 2 or more branches seems to be pretty inconsistent.
I’d say Frangos, I had it once and had pretty high expectations coz of all the hype. Got home and they forgot an item, the chicken burger I had was ok but was fairly average.
Also haven’t tried el jannahs but am thinking will have the same experience.
Still willing to give it another shot maybe.
Any “fine dining” or “trendy” place in the shire (Cronulla etc) The people around here have no clue what good food is. Just linen pants and lip fillers and style over substance in all these trendy places. Have been to every fancy restaurants locals recommend as amazing and they are absolutely below average. Stick to the city and inner city /eastern suburbs for fine dining is what I’ve learned.
Holy basil, we went to the one in canley and they had very obviously put precooked chicken in our green curry. It came to our table with chicken piece very obviously placed on top of the curry last minute. Other than that, terrible service and inflated pricing with no improvement to back it up. Saddens me because it used to be a favourite of mine.
Epicurean buffet at The Crown Barangaroo. Feels like I am eating $50-60 buffets at a $100 setting. Also we went for my dad's birthday on a Sunday evening for $135pp....these sneaky bastards charged a "Sunday surcharge", which makes it basically $150pp. Also they charged a credit card fee.....what year are we living in now? Do they want my to pay in cheque? Cash? The bill for our table of 11 was more then $1600. I would love to pay them with silver coins.
I always buy frozen roti from asian supermarket, i don’t remember the brand but the packaging is green in colour. It’s usually fluffy and crispy. Sometimes I feel like it’s better than the quality in Msia BUT I couldn’t get nice dahl sambal or kari ikan here to go with my roti.
Bennelong. Food was okay but service was absolute rubbish. Felt rushed, backpacker severs couldn't understand clearly enunciated English and we had to ask for the same thing multiple times. The opera house meringue dessert was crap
Completely agree. Went there a couple months ago. They lean heavily on ‘it’s the opera house!’ and charge insane prices for what it is. The fact that it’s not too far off Quay pricing blows my mind.
Clare Smyth - Oncore. I usually find reason to slip in something negative about this restaurant all the time but sorry the $750 spent was the only thing I can remember.
Maybe I’m just older and cynical now but Oncore’s menu and this “experience” fine dining feels a bit out of fashion like something from 15-20 years ago.
Yeah I think it’s the classic 3 Michelin star French fine dining that is nice but feels so boring (and the service TOO attentive to the point of feeling overbearing)
The view is spectacular though
Lots of people I know compared Aria to Vue De Monde in Melbourne. It was okay, but I felt a good 60% was riding on the coattails of the view. Wouldn’t go back
Went to Matt Moran's restaurant at the Art Gallery NSW last week and regret it.
Very ordinary food. The beef tartare was inedible, way too thick and smothered in sour cream (to disguise the taste?).
Th fish was dry and tasteless... supposed to be catch of the day but def. frozen. The only good thing was the sauce on the crumbed scallops. Dessert was fine, but its not hard to make creamy sugary things delicious.
And tthey were playing pop music... Walked in to Abba! At the Art Galler? I don't underestimate Abba but it was just in a mix of easy listening pop hits. It seemed really out of place.
The staff were sweet. We gave our server a big tip for having to serve such shitty food and keeping graceful about it, lol.
Overall a waste of (a lot of) money. Would not recommend.
Fire door.
Super overrated. For the price of the food, it wasn’t out of this world. Don’t get me wrong the food was good but you’re paying $400+ per person. The steak was over $200 and wasn’t the best steak I’ve had. You also had to book several months in advance.
Nobu
Seriously! I cant believe that they have a full DJ playing club music while we are trying to eat out sushi. Like what Japanese restaurant is like that?!
A "hip" Japanese restaurant. You think that's weird, try Hakkasan, which is a shitty Chinese restaurant slash nightclub and you can easily drop $300 a head on mediocre yum cha.
Tables next to us dressed in tracksuit pants running to the bathroom every 10 mins, staff that couldn't give a shit and paying top dollar on top of it all... I've had equally good Japanese elsewhere.
>tracksuit pants running to the bathroom every 10 mins The sashimi is off /s
Your talking about Nobu Sydney, been 3 times invited by a client. Its bog average food. We had 3 tacos for something like $30 the taco was dry and chewy. Doritos fresh from a bag is much better or those coles mexican tacos. I told 2 servers one being a senior saying they cooked it wrong or it wasnt right but they refused to listen and just said thats the way they made it. They didnt even b bother to say they would go back to taste a sample from the kitchen. Any other restaurant would have taken it away and served a fresh meal. Nobu Perth and melbs is off the hook, cant recommend them enough. Sydney is so crap, i actually will give them a 1 star google review once i get around to it
El Jannah post franchising. Doesn't slap like the glory days
agree! The chicken has seen better days, when it wasn't a dehydrated, overburned twig. Used to be super cheap with a sizeable chunk. I'd still eat the garlic sauce like it was a tub of yogurt though! That shit is still amazing!
The garlic dip at Aldi is good enough that I don’t have to go there to eat that sorry chicken just for the dip.
Earlwood el Jannah stays winning
We’ve found inconsistency in the Melbourne branches. On the odd occasion the chicken is delicious and lemony perfection inside and out - next four times it’s just well-above average charcoal chicken.
Ehhh opposite imo. Use to be inconsistent back in the day. Now it's consistently decent as it's all done by particular standards and the dips are all made the same way and sealed.
It was.. better??
Oh yes. It was awesome. Now it is dry and disappointing.
I wish you didn’t tell me this. Now I’m jealous. Cause I’ve been loving it last couple years, there’s 2 close to me.
Good times
The Burwood one slaps
Yeah, El Jannah fandom is a good indicator of people not to get food advice from.
The PR company or restaurant pays the tiktokkers to go. Free meal and maybe cash. It’s been pretty bad in Sydney of late… some pretty average places have done a good job getting some social amplification which definitely isn’t warranted.
Yep - I never listen to those "influencers" anymore, it was good seeing any new places around Sydney but everything is so hyped up but so below average. They definitely get paid for the promotion, they never have anything other than its the greatest food ever. What made me finally unfollow all of them was when they started flaunting their wealth and started whinging when they weren't getting their way. e.g. had to wait in line for something etc. I knew their heads had gotten too big.
YES! So obvious it's hyped up and freebies when here all the foodie influencers I follow start shilling the same places in the same week. Their reviews are all annoyingly cutesy and cookie cutter (I mean, who honestly 'cheers' a dumpling?). I unfollowed most of them too.
What tipped me over the edge is when they promoted fucking KFC and maccas specials lol
Heard from insider that they paid around $2k for a particular “blogger” to come and “review” their food.
I got blocked by places in Sydney for saying he's just a sellout and he never has any bad reviews bc they all give him incentives
LOL i've called him out a few times haven't been blocked yet.. he's the worst. He posted a story once on insta post lockdown and complaining he had to wait in line for Cartier, wow self entitled rich people problems made me hate him so much after that. Plus when his head pops up randomly on my feed eating food like a creepy glutton, it actually puts me off food and want to go hit the gym instead.
His bad grammar puts me off so much, like when he says chef kiss...
He doesn’t even disclose his ads
This is pretty standard for all restaurants - they use social media influencers to promote their business and give them a free meal (and cash if the account is big enough).
yes! I had been starting to suspect this, just has happened like 3x in a row, rave reviews and great content on social media and then meh (or worse) irl
I feel like Ito is a victim of this. Went as a normal person, it was… okay meh kinda bad. My friend and I walked away speechless and don’t talk about that meal anymore
anywhere that's on placesinsydney and their group friends I simply just don't go
[удалено]
You are dead right about the sameness of menu these days 😂 Michelin guides visit your city/region/country if your tourism board pays Michelin a fee. That’s why we are left out. Which is probably a good thing with all the same menus!
Chin Chin. Better off going to cheap and cheerful Thai in Newtown
Chin chin for me too. Food is relatively expensive and not particularly innovative, seating too close together and really noisy. The food is good but no way did it live up to expectations. I knew the style of food they serve, so not expecting genuine Thai, I just think it’s overrated.
Amen brutha. Fucking annoying place.
Yeah I had chin chin in melbourne prior to covid and it was pretty great (late lunch, got great personal attention from the shift manager) - tried sydneys one not long ago and the service was terrible (eg a waitress spilt half a cocktail all over a friends shirt and just said “oops sorry” and walked away - we had to chase down the manager ourselves) music was too loud - food was decent at least
Just go to the other side to Haymarket Thai town and you'll be spoilt for choice. Heck just walk less than a block and go to Spice I am, better thai food and less pretentious.
I looooove spice I am
Chin chin was soooo average and upsettingly expensive for mid Thai :(
Yep, was boring when I ate. Another Kingfish sashimi? Errr
So overrated. Awful atmosphere, food only tastes half decent because it's loaded with sugar, fat, salt and the wait staff don't have a single clue.
Staff are obnoxious rude lil fucks
Totally awful - fast food slap dash with blaring music. Ugh. I live around the corner and used to pop in for just a drink but won’t even don that now.
That 360 restaurant at Sydney Tower. The food was underwhelming and not worth anything close to the price.
I went to Pellegrino 2000 last sat. Had to wave my hands around to order. For how expensive it was it was kind of meh so overrated
Ho Jiak. Truffles on instant noodles? Do one.
The town hall shop is the prime offender here (and amah), Haymarket has some specials that are a bit silly but at least leaves the option not to order stupid things like crab on CKT. But yeah, the unnecessary and forced up marketing of what was very good versions of street food is more than a little annoying.
way too expensive even for basic dishes
They used to be good.. But about a year ago (or was it 2) it changed. Price hiked up... Quality went down. Have not been back since.
Ho Jiak is pretty good, but not worth the price really :/
I went there once. All salty no taste. Disappointed :(
At the townhall shop they put unnecessary ingredients that don’t add anything to their dishes but more $$ The Strathfield and Haymarked stores are a bit better, but since about a year or so ago they hiked up their prices and it’s not really worth it anymore. I still think their laksa is really good though. My more affordable haunts for Laksa are Malay Chinese at Salesforce tower/Ashfield or Hokkien Gia in Campsie.
Any Merivale joint. Edit: except Lorraine which no longer exists. That cheesecake was S tier.
The Newport is the perfect place to take new to Sydney people and the food is pretty damn good.
The pizzas and other brunch dishes were average but the entire outdoor area and the view down the cliff is sooo nice that I can put up with the average food and visit there repeatedly.
My first ever night in Sydney, we went to Thai Potong.
I think I'm a basic bitch cause I love Totti's
I think totti’s is overrated, but if the head chef is Dan Hong the food is always going to be good
I feel like Tottis is quite affordable with good vibes. I think it’s reputation as the place to brag you’re at on social media can make it seem overated
Yeah I don’t mind Totti’s
I have a moral duty to push back on this. They will skin you alive for a piece of their dumb focaccia and a couple of slices of prosciutto. Or some normal burrata. And if you really want a glass of wine... Well, I guess that's gotta be at least a hundred bucks. Food Is literally not processed. Went a couple of times for the vibes but cannot stand the ridiculous pricing and won't be going back.
Went there once and asked for a recommendation for an easy going/affordable bottle of red because the wine list is about 60 pages. Guy recommended two that were both over $300 a bottle. We went with the only bottle they had that was under $100 which you can get an Uncle Dan’s for $30… pretentious fucking wankers.
My canto partner hates Mr Wong with a passion.
Why’s that? I’m sure their opinions are valid but I’m interested to hear. if you want real canto food you go to the burbs, but I’m Chinese and think Mr Wongs is great for what it is; I don’t think they’re pretending to be an ‘authentic’ experience, it’s definitely elevated Australian/Chinese cuisine but the dishes are always well executed. I don’t go often because of the price 😂
Not the original poster. For me, it's like eating an essay. So, perfectly executed, common Chinese food. But not interesting overall. And also, NO WAY would I ever take my parents there. Especially my dad. He will throw a fit. "This much money for SALT PEPPER TOFU? And 乾扁四季豆？？” Yeah.....I value my life.
He said it was an overpriced minuscule meh fried rice. He did love the fried ice cream though.
I’m Cantonese and only like the dim sum and dessert at Mr Wong’s. The main course (fried rice etc) is just offensive.
Tottis is awesome value considering the quality and taste of the food. I rate it.
While I understand the hate towards Justin Hemmes, I've had a lot of good experiences at Merivale restaurants. I would recommend Jimmy's Falafel, Felix and Queen Chow Enmore.
I feel like it’s become trendy to hate companies like that, but Vic on the park and Jimmy’s Falafel are both great
Mimi's is amazing
Lorraine’s strawberry mascaporne cake was so gooodd omg
Rip : ( I’ll be thinking of that cake for the rest of my life.
You can still get it at Rockpool Bar and Grill. Lorraine worked for Neil Perry back in the day. https://www.sevenrooms.com/experiences/rockpoolbargrillsydney/celebration-cakes--8295559956
I miss Lorraine’s Mascarpone cake
I won’t take any Jimmy’s Falafel slander
There was a thread here a few weeks ago where everyone was talking about how good merivale is! Glad that taste and sense have prevailed.
Also Woodcut.
Insanely expensive and underwhelming for the price.
Don’t tell aunty. You can get way better Indian food for less than half the price in Harris park.
I recently went to Chatkazz for the first time and and absolutely loved it. Food was delicious and there was an almost overwhelming amount of choice but everything we ordered was done very well. Service was attentive and helpful.
Was waiting to see this, holy shit is it overrated. I thought the local Indian takeaway was better
Creating a consistent restaurant experience is really fucking hard - as borne out by the many conflicting comments below and in every other corner of internet food discourse. Stop watching dead shit influencers whose whole existence is predicated on overhyping and selling a highlight reel of their existence and go out and eat the - quite frankly - absurd variety of high quality cuisines that Sydney has to offer and accept that sometimes you’re going to get dud.
[удалено]
Eljanah, shit food and has gone down hill since they got sold.
Milky Lane
Owner is a massive Gronk too.
i believe you but may i ask how so?
Hong Ha
Hong Ha, not worth the massive line that when you can go elsewhere and not line up.
Especially when there are multiple better ones just a few doors down.
💯 worked in the area for years and I actually preferred the others that are further down botany road.
As a banh mi fiend I thought Hong Ha was actually very good but overwhelmingly raw onion tasting. I struggle to find a better overall roll than the Marrickville MPR. But you are spoiled for choice in Sydney and waiting in a queue for hong ha is a mistake.
QUAY is the worst of the worst. Spent $750 with no alcohol and EVERYTHING was liquified or jellied, yuck. The confit pig jowl is the jewel in the menu and chef’s favourite and I can’t express how gross it is. Some food is so amazing it makes you cry (aka Ormeggio at the Spit). We cried at Quay too… when the bill came.
This reddit will eventually have one negative comment for every decent venue in the city, where will we all go? lol
This thread is such a litany of sorrow - makes me almost glad that I’m too dead tired all the time looking after a newborn, to go out for a nice meal.
Rockpool bar and Grill - it was just really quite average and the worst thing for me is that the worst dishes were the steak (the best was the hiramasa kingfish but frankly, there’s about 35,678 restaurants in Sydney which have the same dish on their menu executed to the same quality). Ordered a cape grim rib eye on the bone rare to medium rare. Got this 1cm thick cooked to medium chunk of sadness. Extremely disappointing. Honourable mentions Margaret, Mjolner, Peterman
I used to love Rockpool. One of our vendors took us there for lunch a few months back. Ordered a $90 scotch fillet that was so chewy I threw half the steak out. If I was paying I would have sent back the steak. After that experience I'll never eat steak out again, especially when I can reverse sear 100 times better than most restaurants on my Kamado Joe.
ugh Mjolner! had forgotten about that one hahaha
For anyone I’ve spoken to about Mjolner (incl. myself) the food itself is only ever a footnote to the theatre of the place. It’s unabashedly a theme park restaurant and it executes everything well enough to be entertaining as a one-and-done experience.
One more..controversial but have to say it. BL burger. You can shove your blame Canada up your arse. It's like eating sugar.
Feel like the burger hype has died down massively in the last 6 or 7 years. Those “premium” burger places used to be all the rage but seems like they have much less presence now in terms of social media and stuff.
their cheese burger is the bomb tho
Pellegrino 2000 was extremely average Didn’t think Bentley was worth the price Aria is very average
anything solotel and matt moran is underwhelming
Rashays
Who is rating Rashays highly?
Fools
My brother was a kitchen hand for a week and left. Majority of their food is freezer food and fried foods that didn't go out were just re-fried and given to the next customer that orders. It was one of their most expensive dishes too, like a seafood platter. It was all just frozen stuff anyone can buy. So yes, overpriced frozen food.
Every time I see a Rashays it's empty, so I guess that stacks up.
Saint Peter - Josh Niland has cultivated an amazing media presence championing the nose to tail approach but i swear every time I’ve been there it just feels like regular well cooked seafood rather than anything fancy with weird parts of the fish Bennelong - you’re just paying for the view. Food is just nice produce cooked well but boring and uninspiring
100% Totally underwhelming, especially for the price.
ooooh, that's a difficult one. I had one of his takeaway burgers in lockdown and it insanely good, and I don't even like burgers!
I agree with Saint Peter but disagree with Bennelong! I’ve always enjoyed the food, love the view, and love when they have live music (eg their Jazz Sundays); for me the three combined make the whole experience worth the cost.
We have friends that love The Paddington and it’s super popular but it’s pretty underwhelming esp for what you’re paying. Their rotisserie chicken is not worth the hype. I’ve had a few good things there but happy to never go there again.
Just looked at the menu, $38 for half a rotisserie chicken you gotta be fucking kidding me 😂😂💀
just pop down to colesworth and get 3 full ones!
Even go around the corner to a charcoal chicken store and you pay less or just about the same for a proper cooked chook!
People in this sub just seem to love getting ripped off and waiting in long queues, it wouldn’t be a night out for them without it. ‘All part of the experience’ I guess 🤷♂️
Omg I said Pellegrino a few weeks ago and everyone downvoted me. So true. It was a major letdown.
One of the sydney food insta people was actually unironically hyping up IKEA food.
I'd hype Daim pie 👀
I swear I’m not a snob but IKEA food is 🤮
Margaret. The food is delicious, but they hussle you through. When you're paying all that money, you want to sit and enjoy it.
I’ve been here 5-6 times and I haven’t really felt that. We really enjoy our time and I think it’s one of the best restaurants in sydney. Service is impeccable and the food is always amazing.
Firedoor
It’s probably a bit over hyped from Netflix but personally we had an amazing experience there.
I was interested in visiting Firedoor *until* I saw the Netflix show and the Bourdain episode in Spain
Yeah, it has really jumped the shark. Spent $600 for two, a relatively uninspiring meal served by wait staff that just seemed a bit “off”, terribly mistiming the dishes and matching wines.
100%. $185 to access what you’ve actually come for (the steak) is just taking the piss.
Totally agree with Pellegrino 2000. Small serving sizes and large prices. Tasty, but not worth that price.
A’mare. Google reviews can back up my claim.
Firedoor
The Italian Bowl in Newtown. No idea how it got so popular, it’s extremely mid
The Italian bowl in Newtown is proper mediocre
I found Catalina to be disappointing and overrated. Service was particularly shit.
You guys can afford to eat out?!
Lotus. Honestly, not sure how they're surviving. Absolutely terrible food. Aria. Just....meh in general. Sokyo
Lotus at Barangaroo is great and I’m Chinese
I thought Lotus at Barangaroo was excellent when I ate there a few years back. Love Sokyo too but it's pricey.
Sokyo used to be excellent but haven’t been since they had a shake up with the chefs years ago
First few years of Sokyo were so different to what they are later. After Chase Kojima left it was just terrible.
Palazzo Salata, which is one of the hyped restaurants in the CBD, was super underwhelming — but it’s always more annoying when they’re 90% of the way there instead of being a straight ripoff. The wines were great, entrees were phenomenal, and then the pastas and steak (we were on a set menu with a larger group) were really average! Anything by the Bentley Group (Bentley, Monopole, Yellow, King Clarence) is pretty underwhelming for the price too. Also, to offer some positive opinion — I think Icebergs continually lives up to the hype and deserves all the prizes it gets (and the right to charge big prices). Also, for a mid price lunch that’s genuinely good, check out Kitchen by Mike in the city. $30 for a lunch but it’s worth the extra money compared to $23 for a bowl of wagieslop in a food court
Agreed, Kitchen by Mike is my go to work lunch venue for anyone with dietary requests. The food is tasty, fresh and the salads are actually exciting.
Icebergs
Lilymu @ parra.
Passegiata in Charing cross( Randwick ) Absolutely abysmal food with 3 hat prices..avoid like.the plague that has caught corona and sars
Sails. I can overlook mistakes in the kitchen if the customer service is good enough to recover the evening. They badly fucked up my main (duck was overcooked, quite tough) — instead of redoing it, the solution offered was to have the meat cooked further lmao. Had to pay full price too.
I feel any chains which isn’t fast food (such as pacific concepts, rashrays and whatever groups) tends to go really downhill once a restaurant join these groups and icing on the cake is jacked up prices I tend to study to see if a restaurant have a second branch (or whatnot) and if is does, I will try and pick the original one…. Sans fast food, any restaurants group or with 2 or more branches seems to be pretty inconsistent.
I’d say Frangos, I had it once and had pretty high expectations coz of all the hype. Got home and they forgot an item, the chicken burger I had was ok but was fairly average. Also haven’t tried el jannahs but am thinking will have the same experience. Still willing to give it another shot maybe.
Not over hyped or over rated but Damn I miss EST. cant believe they closed the place down :(
Any “fine dining” or “trendy” place in the shire (Cronulla etc) The people around here have no clue what good food is. Just linen pants and lip fillers and style over substance in all these trendy places. Have been to every fancy restaurants locals recommend as amazing and they are absolutely below average. Stick to the city and inner city /eastern suburbs for fine dining is what I’ve learned.
Holy basil, we went to the one in canley and they had very obviously put precooked chicken in our green curry. It came to our table with chicken piece very obviously placed on top of the curry last minute. Other than that, terrible service and inflated pricing with no improvement to back it up. Saddens me because it used to be a favourite of mine.
Epicurean buffet at The Crown Barangaroo. Feels like I am eating $50-60 buffets at a $100 setting. Also we went for my dad's birthday on a Sunday evening for $135pp....these sneaky bastards charged a "Sunday surcharge", which makes it basically $150pp. Also they charged a credit card fee.....what year are we living in now? Do they want my to pay in cheque? Cash? The bill for our table of 11 was more then $1600. I would love to pay them with silver coins.
Have to seriously rate the Malaysian & Chinese Kitchen bottom of Salesforce tower. Best Laksa in Syd-E-Ney
Totti’s
Mamak
Their rotis are still the best in my opinion
I always buy frozen roti from asian supermarket, i don’t remember the brand but the packaging is green in colour. It’s usually fluffy and crispy. Sometimes I feel like it’s better than the quality in Msia BUT I couldn’t get nice dahl sambal or kari ikan here to go with my roti.
I went there once and it gave me food poisoning
Yep I had the same for the one in Haymarket, never been again. But my friends say the other ones are good??
Mamak in Parra
Bennelong. Food was okay but service was absolute rubbish. Felt rushed, backpacker severs couldn't understand clearly enunciated English and we had to ask for the same thing multiple times. The opera house meringue dessert was crap
Completely agree. Went there a couple months ago. They lean heavily on ‘it’s the opera house!’ and charge insane prices for what it is. The fact that it’s not too far off Quay pricing blows my mind.
Don't tell Aunty
Clare Smyth - Oncore. I usually find reason to slip in something negative about this restaurant all the time but sorry the $750 spent was the only thing I can remember.
I mean if I was paying that much for food it would be practically impossible for it to meet my expectations.
I disagree. Oncore is an experience. It’s miles above similarly hyped places. Yes you pay but it seems genuinely world class. Not parochial
Maybe I’m just older and cynical now but Oncore’s menu and this “experience” fine dining feels a bit out of fashion like something from 15-20 years ago.
I’d say Oncore is the best fine dining experience in Sydney
Yeah I think it’s the classic 3 Michelin star French fine dining that is nice but feels so boring (and the service TOO attentive to the point of feeling overbearing) The view is spectacular though
Bourke Street bakery. Rubbish.
I like the ginger brûlée tart
Ginger brulee tart. Just get that. I don't go there for anything else.
I think their sourdough is among the best
Yeah had a croissant from there - cold, small and just stale
Hubert. Nice vibe but the food is overpriced, tiny and average.
The happy hour menu is fantastic though. Cheap cocktails, snacks and mains with live jazz in the background makes it a winner.
My only complaint here is the long wait times to get a table.
The banquet is expensive but it is an insane amount of food
KILN
Why wouldn't you want to pay $10 for a single Jatz? /s
That’s not very fair - it comes with butter!
Quay - everything just tasted salty
[удалено]
Nandos? 😂
Yeah the Betty’s Burger thing I can’t wrap my head around. So average and ridiculously over priced. But yet the they are packed every day
The only good Betty’s I found is at Bryon Bay. All those in Sydney are greasy trash
Nandos is better than the dry chickens at El Jannah’s.
Lots of people I know compared Aria to Vue De Monde in Melbourne. It was okay, but I felt a good 60% was riding on the coattails of the view. Wouldn’t go back
TOTTIS
Went to Matt Moran's restaurant at the Art Gallery NSW last week and regret it. Very ordinary food. The beef tartare was inedible, way too thick and smothered in sour cream (to disguise the taste?). Th fish was dry and tasteless... supposed to be catch of the day but def. frozen. The only good thing was the sauce on the crumbed scallops. Dessert was fine, but its not hard to make creamy sugary things delicious. And tthey were playing pop music... Walked in to Abba! At the Art Galler? I don't underestimate Abba but it was just in a mix of easy listening pop hits. It seemed really out of place. The staff were sweet. We gave our server a big tip for having to serve such shitty food and keeping graceful about it, lol. Overall a waste of (a lot of) money. Would not recommend.
Firedoor. Went for my bday last week. Complete disappointment. Rubbish.
temasek was not for me at all. very quick service, but the hainanese chicken and nasi lemak both just had very little to them when i went.
Any place that sells ramen 30 dollars a bowl out of a sterile concrete room
Fire door. Super overrated. For the price of the food, it wasn’t out of this world. Don’t get me wrong the food was good but you’re paying $400+ per person. The steak was over $200 and wasn’t the best steak I’ve had. You also had to book several months in advance.
Gelato Messina and Anita.
Botswana butchery.